Schuyler Colfax

Schuyler Colfax (23 March 1823-13 January 1885) was Vice President of the United States from 4 March 1869 to 4 March 1873, succeeding Andrew Johnson and preceding Henry Wilson. He previously served in the US House of Representatives (R-IN 9) from 4 March 1855 to 3 March 1869, succeeding Norman Eddy and preceding John P.C. Shanks, and he distinguished himself as a leader of the Radical Republicans during and after the American Civil War.

Biography
Schuyler Colfax was born in New York City, New York in 1823, the grandson of New Jersey militia general William Colfax, who fought in the American Revolutionary War. In 1836, Colfax's family moved to New Carlisle, Indiana, and Colfax founded the St. Joseph Valley Register in 1845, contributing articles on state politics. He first supported the Whigs (attending their 1848 national convention), and later supported the nascent Republican Party after the Whigs split over the issue of slavery. He was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1855, and he became a prominent opponent of slavery; he was one of the Republican Party's founders. In January 1865, as Speaker of the House, he case a vote for the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, an unusual act for Speakers to do. After Ulysses S. Grant was selected as the Republican presidential nominee in 1868, he chose the radical Colfax as his running mate, and they became the youngest presidential ticket of the century. In 1871, he encouraged Italy to adopt a republican government that protected religious freedom and civil rights after its unification. In 1872, believing that Grant would only serve one term, Colfax announced that he would not serve as Vice President again, attempting to garner support for the nomination. When Grant announced that he would run again, however, Colfax unsuccessfully attempted to position himself as his running mate, and his career was ruined by the Credit Mobilier scandal of 1873. He worked as a business executive after leaving office, and he died in Mankato, Minnesota in 1885.